This invention relates in general to holders for cylindrical tools and the like and, more specifically, to a magnetic holder for sets of wrench sockets, drill bits and other cylindrical magnetic metal tools having uniformly changing diameters through the set.
A very wide variety of holders have been developed for maintaining sets of tools and the like in a desired order on a support means. Where the objects to be held in place are formed from a magnetic metal, magnets are often employed to hold the objects in the desired order on a support. Often, spaced magnets or strips of magnetic material are mounted on a vertical surface so that magnetic material objects placed thereagainst will be held in place. Typical such arrangements are described by Dunkelberger et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 2,966,992 and Case in U.S. Pat. No. 2,457,032. These holders, however, do not maintain the objects being held in any particular order and often the magnets have insufficient strength to hold the objects in place, especially where the holder is moved or bumped.
A number of different magnetic holders have been developed for holding wrench sockets on a holder in order of decreasing (or increasing) socket diameter. Bars with holes having diameters corresponding to the decreasing diameter of sockets in a set have been provided with magnets at the bottoms of the holes to hold sockets in the holes, as described by Pierce in U.S. Pat. No. 3,405,377. While useful where the holes extend downwardly or horizontally, the magnets often do not have sufficient strength to hold the sockets in place when the holder is moved or inverted since they contact only narrow end rims of the sockets.
In order to increase the magnetic holding strength, magnets have been arranged along slots in a knife blade holder to contact and attract both sides of a knife blade, as shown by Labelle in U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,412. While useful with knives of different lengths, but reasonably uniform blade thickness, this arrangement is not easily adaptable to objects of varying thickness or diameter.
Holders using a series of uniform spaced troughs with a relatively weak magnet behind the troughs to help hold objects in the troughs are disclosed by Moyer in U.S. Pat. No. 563.787 for holding writing pens. Magnetic forces are quite weak with the poles of the magnet at one end of the holder, so that magnetic strength decreases significantly toward the other end of the holder.
Many prior holders for sets of wrench sockets use an elongated magnet along which the sockets can be placed, such as those shown by Anderson in U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,580 and Miller in U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,817. These holders do not provide anything to maintain the sockets in the desirable regular pattern of decreasing (or increasing) diameter, and the magnets contact only a small part of the sockets so that the retaining strength is low, often permitting sockets to be inadvertently dislodged from the holder.
Thus, there is a continuing need for a holder for cylindrical objects of varying diameter, such as wrench sockets, drill bits and the like, which maximizes magnetic forces holding the objects in place and provides a configuration that assures that the objects will be held in a selected order by diameter.